They went for a baldness experiment and ended up meeting the Pope, so these brothers certainly have a tale or two to tell.

Cheeky identical twins Sidney Tabizel and Harry Tobias celebrated their 90th birthday on Tuesday and there was plenty of stories shared over birthday cake.

Friends and family from as far as New York and Toronto flew in for a surprise tea party to mark the occasion at The Royal Chace Hotel, Enfield, on Sunday, where guests were entertained with tales from the twins' childhood.

Harry, who had previously lived in Wembly for over 30 years until moving to Barkingside, Essex recently, recalls: "We went for a clinical trial for baldness using identical twins and ended up in Rome in an audience with the Pope. Needless to say the treatment didn't work; we were bald then and we're bald now."

Phillip Rose recalled how his father-in-law Harry and his brother would play tricks on the neighbourhood. He said: "When growing up they used to play knockdown ginger, and when the angry housewives came out the brothers would blame each other as no-one could tell them apart."

Born in the East End of London the pair, who are avid Spurs fans, enjoyed a happy childhood and were only parted while assigned separate duties in the army during World War Two.

Sidney, of The Drive, Harrow, reckons the twin intuition is as active today as ever. He said: "Even now we dress the same and like the same things. We've always been the same. We can't tell ourselves apart even today."

Sidney, a tailor by trade, has lived in Harrow for over 40 years and even at 90 is still making clothes for people.

He said: "I may only be 90 but I still do everything, except maybe climbing drainpipes."